To restore our faith in the sweater
As you know, at BonneGueule, we love chunky knits and we wear them a lot.
After exploring the chunky cardigan , it was therefore logical that we tackle the chunky knit sweater : its collar can sometimes make it easier to wear with a coat or under a blazer. And it also remains a very simple piece to combine , the trick is to offer a particular texture or relief!
Except that most of the time, the sweaters we see on the market are often very neutral and don't add much to an outfit, apart from warmth. This was not what we wanted.
After Six & Sept, we looked for a French brand with real expertise in knitwear, and that's where we came across Le Mont Saint Michel.
The first textured sweater: easy-to-wear navy blue.
The second sweater: a burgundy one to bring variety in the colors.
We haven't talked much about this brand on BonneGueule, so we're going to introduce it to you before talking about our collaboration.
This part is longer than usual, but the history of the brand and Alexandre Milan (the creator behind Le Mont Saint Michel) are worth the detour…
A history of Mont Saint Michel that begins in 1918
Alexandre's family has been producing sweaters for almost a century . Born in Brittany, from a Norman family, he was therefore completely legitimate to lead the Le Mont Saint Michel brand. .
Before we get into the brand in detail, let's travel back in time, because Alexandre gave us a rather unique perspective on the history of knitwear in France...
A century of family history
After the First World War, Alexander's great-grandmother founded an underwear knitting workshop , providing work and occupation for war widows.
They produced woolen skin knits, socks...
In this old advertisement for the brand Docteur Rasurel, you can clearly see what the underwear looked like at the time. It was obviously very cold!
The years passed and the consumer society took root in the France of the Trente Glorieuses. The industry flourished: there were nearly 600 knitting companies, because the entire French population had to be clothed.
We needed efficient machines, productivity, performance. It's hard to believe, but at the time, all French consumption was made in France!
We are still decades away from globalization: what was consumed in France was almost exclusively produced in France.
It was his grandfather who imported the first sweater knitting machines from the USA. The Milan family workshop was at the forefront of technological innovation in the 1960s and 1970s.
From 60 people, the workforce grew to nearly 300 employees producing 3,500 sweaters per day in the company, which was considerable at the time!
At the same time, Alexandre spent his childhood in a workshop, but not just any workshop.
Attention heritage lovers, this is Château Monthorin.
In fact, he and his brothers grew up in a castle renovated by their parents in order to set up their knitting workshop. Having visited the place, it is truly atypical, the workshop stands out radically from the industrial buildings of the time.
As a result, his childhood was marked by the memory of machines, their noise, the activity of the employees, by the smell of oil, wool and cotton, a bit like "a giant mechanic" , he tells us.
The company is therefore closely linked to the family and quickly arouses his curiosity, his desire to discover the profession. As a young man, his father gives him a leg up, but he doesn't just hand him the keys to the workshop without letting him prove himself!
His learning of knitting
Before handing over the reins to him, Alexandre Sr.'s father asked him to learn the trade himself in order to be legitimate. So he started knitting, sewing, using machines... and discovered how to assemble a sweater.
Training in basic practices will also allow Alexandre to benefit from a better understanding of his brand.
After this apprenticeship, he left for Switzerland where the best knitting machines in the world awaited him. He then got his hands on programming looms, complex stitches, all these operations allowing him to express his ideas on a machine; like a true knit artist.
However, things are going to start to go wrong in the French textile industry...
The supremacy of quantity: towards the end of a model
The 1980s marked the beginning of the reign of mass distribution Carrefour, Monoprix, Prisunic... These behemoths changed the situation considerably. With their appearance, the relationship between production and consumption was turned upside down. Why is this?
With their desire to buy gigantic quantities at the lowest price, we start to produce more clothes for less. The goal is no longer to produce durable and good quality clothes , because who says cheap clothes says several purchases per season. This is the birth of fast fashion .
Quantity triumphs over quality and, little by little, consumers prefer to have more choice, more cheaper clothes than just one quality one for a lifetime.
By changing our consumption patterns, the entire textile industry has gradually been turned upside down.
With the opening of the economic market in Europe, France finds itself in competition with European countries that are less technologically advanced but have much cheaper labor, from Italy to Portugal.
The arrival of these new entrants has clearly distorted the French textile industry, to the point that those which were the best spinning mills in Europe are closing one after the other.
And unfortunately, the French textile industry completely collapsed, with the consequences that we all know. The Milan family workshop also suffered, everything was emptied. This did not take away Alexandre's taste for knitwear, and the idea of having his own brand gradually gained ground.
The resurrection of the Le Mont Saint Michel brand
The brand before the takeover
Alexandre Milan did not found the brand Le Mont Saint Michel, this brand had already existed for a long time. He revived it and gave it another dimension.
Historically, Le Mont Saint Michel was a very beautiful workwear brand founded in 1913. Their advertisements of the time were visible on walls, in the countryside. Every child knew the logo, which was really part of the visual landscape of the time.
“3 times more use”, the workwear origin of the brand is obvious!
More than a logo, the brand produced absolutely indestructible clothing, with unfailing strength. Contrary to what one might believe , they did not dress the sea trades but the land trades : artisans, farmers, carpenters.
Well, it's true that Mont Saint Michel is basically a brand for land-based professions, but you can wear the sweater in a port, that works very well too!
The meeting between Alexandre's family workshop and the old brand took place in the 1980s. At that time, Alexandre wanted to move to the next level: found his own brand to distribute the workshop's production.
Without a brand of his own, he finds himself forced to subcontract to distribute his knitwear, a situation he would like to get out of!
The rediscovery of a dormant brand
He rediscovered Le Mont Saint Michel and realized that the brand was admired throughout the world: Japan, Scandinavia, Switzerland... These work clothes have an almost cult status due to their quality and the image with which they are associated.
They are snapped up second-hand and in surplus, but the brand no longer produces anything.
Alexandre therefore made an offer and bought the brand, combining its history and international visibility with the history of his own family. The two DNAs were totally compatible: the simplicity and sobriety specific to a workwear heritage brand , added to Alexandre's know-how in knitwear, and more generally in manufacturing.
Since then, the brand has exported its knitwear abroad, all over the world, thanks to the instantly recognizable graphic logo.
Now that’s a logo that really stands out!
But since the brand's beginnings, the textile landscape has changed a lot around the world. And if Mont Saint Michel has not manufactured in France for several decades, Alexandre, as a great clothing technician, regularly sources from workshops all over the world.
Like any expert in his field, he also has a point of view that sometimes goes against the grain of what can be read elsewhere : he is extremely admiring of the recent know-how of the Chinese in knitwear and their brand new workshops, equipped with the latest machines. He is also much more nuanced than we are on the use of synthetic in knitwear, emphasizing the practicality and ease of maintenance that results from it. .
It is therefore this interesting mix, at the crossroads between a century-old French brand and the cutting-edge know-how of Alexandre, that we wanted to highlight through these two wool sweaters.
Two virgin wool sweaters
The aim of this collaboration was to provide you with a virgin wool sweater , in a chunky knit, with a fitted cut and a very particular texture, in order to offer you an effective and versatile warm piece, both in terms of functionality (protecting you from the cold!) and style (being able to wear it under a blazer or in a very casual way).
A unique texture
The first thing you notice is obviously this texture, which could be described as "waffle" or honeycomb. In fact, it is called a reverse stitch , because both sides of the machine are used to create this relief.
Given the shape of the texture, this makes for a visually interesting sweater, without being too thick or uncomfortable.
With a slightly plunging light, full of romance , the texture of the sweater is gradually revealed.
As usual, the choice of colors is always a big topic for us. If the blue sweater is a must-have, with here a visual "twist" thanks to the reversed texture, a more unusual color was also needed.
So we chose burgundy because we think it's a very easy color to wear and that brings variety.
The collar of the sweater, also compatible with that of a shirt! (see the photo below).
Virgin wool that keeps you warm
It's a 100% virgin wool sweater , a material that we've never explored before at BonneGueule: the wool comes from Australia and is spun in Austria. .
Then the sweater is knitted, cut and sewn in Romania, in a small family workshop that has mastered this material. This is how it gets this very "clean" and close-fitting fall.
The burgundy of this virgin wool takes the light beautifully.
Virgin wool (27 microns thick) has the advantage of having a more "nervous", more casual feel, and of having very good robustness over time . There is also little pilling compared to finer wool.
As a reminder, virgin wool comes from the first shearing of sheep, and it is a wool to which we cannot add more than 7% of external fibers (often to provide support and robustness). .
It is the virgin wool that gives this sweater its rather casual feel.
And above all, given the thickness of the knit, it's a sweater that keeps you very warm! Luca and Flo during their windy shooting day, and Elie skiing, can testify to this. The honeycomb texture, the thickness of the knit and the quality of the virgin wool , mean that the sweater traps a lot of air: this gives it a remarkable thermal insulation capacity.
As long as you don't live in the depths of a mountain swept by Siberian winds, you just need to add a light, windproof layer - like a softshell or a trench coat - to be prepared for all the weather's hazards.
In case of severe cold (below 5°C), put on your usual coat and I guarantee that the mercury will be nothing more than a bad memory.
Add a water-repellent or waterproof layer to your sweater, and you won't fear the weather anymore!
A fitted but comfortable fit
As you know, on thick knits, the challenge is to have a fitted cut . This is where virgin wool is very practical, since its natural elasticity keeps the sweater well on your bust, while making it very comfortable. You will have real freedom of movement, without feeling tight in it.
And as usual, if you have to have an elastic material, it might as well shape your arms and define your shoulders .
Luca likes the length of the sleeve, which can either be worn normally or pulled slightly so that it covers more of the hand.
Even though it's a chunky knit, the sleeve still fits well.
Finally, we took care not to have a ribbed edge that was too tight, to avoid the formation of "bulges" that were too pronounced. As I said, with the natural "stretch" of the material and the knitting, it would have been useless to do the opposite.
Something I didn't know, the type of finish also affects the hold of the cut, particularly on the thorny subject of cut and sewn...
The question of cut and sewn vs. "fully fashioned"
If you've been reading BonneGueule for a while, you know that we've always recommended having a "fully fashioned" finish. compared to a cut/sewn. Except that on this sweater, it's a cut/sewn! Why this choice on our part?
At first, I actually wanted fully fashioned, but Alexandre warned me. He explained to me that on a turned knit, to have a clean and structured cut, cut/sew was preferable. Not to mention the decrease/increase techniques, which take a long time to develop and are often uncertain. It was his experience that spoke!
The fit of the sweater is clearly visible here, with very few creases, but keeping the garment close to the body, very useful for going shrimp fishing on Sunday afternoon .
How to wear a waffle knit sweater?
We start with Florian, faithful to his usual elegance. Unsurprisingly, the burgundy of the sweater lends itself perfectly to the navy blue of the suit: we stick to "safe combinations". Just make sure that your blazer leaves you enough space to put the sweater underneath, at the risk of looking cramped otherwise. The collar of the white shirt creates a point of light and frames the outfit by recalling the sneakers. ( BonneGueule shirt , BonneGueule navy suit , Adidas sneakers)
The collar of the sweater falls neither too high nor too low: you will have no problem matching it with a shirt.
In the same spirit, the sweater can also be worn in a mismatched suit: the main thing is to ensure that the colors remain harmonious. The margin of error is very small on a burgundy / blue / gray combination. Florian opts for derby shoes to emphasize the dressy dimension of his outfit, but the sneakers from the previous look would be just as possible. Finally, note the blue-gray and burgundy pocket square, bridging the different pieces of the look. ( BonneGueule shirt , Gant Rugger blazer, Hast pocket square, BonneGueule pants , Septième Largeur derby)
Luca told you about it in his report on Pitti 89, the camel coat is a piece with a lot of style while being easy to wear. Look how easily it integrates with other colors, it is a particularly versatile item. On this 100% wool outfit, the variation of textures is essential: none of the pieces have the same appearance, even though they are in the same material. The scarf simply placed on the shoulders creates vertical lines and helps to visually lengthen the silhouette: a tip to remember for the smallest among us! (Monsieur London scarf, Gutteridge coat, Crémieux pants, Scarosso shoes)
Raw denim, knitted sweater, waxed cotton macintosh... proof that you can do workwear differently! Waxed cotton subtly echoes the sweater's marine influences, while the jeans play the role of neutral canvas around which the other elements of the outfit are grafted. Note how the collar of the shirt sits with that of the sweater. In terms of colors, you know, the blue / beige combo is a pillar of men's fashion: don't hesitate to use it! ( BonneGueule Oxford shirt , BonneGueule jeans , Gant macintosh)
A sweater and pants can also be enough to build a look - on this type of configuration, obviously take care of the cuts / proportions -. With such a sober base, you can afford a more daring pair of shoes, here two-material tassel loafers. The same goes for the bag and accessories, it's an opportunity to let your desires speak. (SuitSupply pants, Crémieux loafers, Almaré bag)
The strong piece of this look is clearly the blue and green tartan pants, which the sweater just "calms" without being boring, thanks to the work done on the knit. (Zins pants, Crémieux boots)
This gives a rich mix of textures and colours, without overdoing it.
If you want, you can also swap the pair of Chelsea boots for the spontaneity and comfort of a pair of sneakers. 😉
If you pair a navy sweater with a denim jacket, choose one in a lighter shade. Otherwise, there is no difficulty in this look: the top is constructed in monochrome, the gray jeans allow the pieces to be linked together and the beach boots desert boots are in the same casual vein, while adding a touch of warmer color. (APC jacket, BonneGueule jeans , Bobbies desert boots)
Look closer, you will see that Luca has wrapped a bandana around his neck before tucking the ends into his sweater (tying it could quickly give a "boy scout" look). Now that more and more of you have already mastered the basics and are on the path to your own style, I invite you to look into this type of accessory to develop your curiosity. Less common, it easily allows you to convey influences or traits of your personality. Otherwise, a more classic scarf / neckerchief can do the trick just as well: it's a matter of taste. (Levi's Bandana)
We couldn't decently pass through Honfleur without paying due homage to the brand's coastal origins! Joking aside, the look is obviously very connoted and can seem difficult to transpose. Generally speaking, it is by associating it with more formal pieces that you can wear a yellow raincoat in an urban context. (Six&Sept hat, De Fursac raincoat and white jeans, Bobbies desert boots)
For a more sober and urban look, simply remove the raincoat (or choose it in an easier color). The foundation of the Italian style, the harmony of white pants and navy sweater is total. It is also the simplest combination with jeans of this color.
White pants are enough on their own. Apart from a few pieces of jewelry, there is no need to overload the outfit with accessories.
How to choose your size?
The sizing is very classic, just take your usual size !
I know I say this every time I launch, but it's that simple!
How to get BonneGueule x Le Mont Saint Michel sweaters?
The sweaters are available here from this Sunday at 2 p.m. , but in limited quantities!
